1. Technical Field.
The invention described in this application relates generally to power supplies, and more particularly to a new and improved backup power supply suitable for use with a conventional personal computer.
2. Background Information.
Some backup power supplies are designed to provide power to a computer during an interruption in the primary power source. This is often accomplished by automatically switching over to a battery supply during the interruption, and back to the primary power source once it has again stabilized. When this is properly done, computer operations can continue during the interruption, and data loss is less likely.
However, power interruptions often have additional consequences that affect computer operations. For example, consider a situation where the computer is located in a windowless office or is being operated during hours of darkness. A power interruption in such a situation is usually accompanied by a loss of lighting, and office lighting is frequently not provided with a backup power source. Thus, the loss of lighting prevents normal keyboard operation so that required commands can not be conveniently entered. Operations may halt with loss of time and data even though the computer has a backup power supply.
Consequently, it is desirable to have a new and improved backup power supply designed to overcome this problem also--one that would enable operator control of the keyboard during primary power interruptions causing loss of lighting.